Rail anchor

ABSTRACT

A rail fastener includes a spring anchor plate provided with a longitudinal slot dividing the plate into a rail engaging section and a tie retainer member engaging section. A retainer member, fixably disposed relative a crosstie, clampingly engages the tie retainer member engaging section to bias the undersurface of the rail engaging section against the upper surface of the rail base flange.

United States Patent 1 Newton May 13, 1975 [54] RAIL ANCHOR 1,960,550 5/1934 Preston 238/349 2,211, 21 81940 M 3 75 Inventor: John 5. Newton, Glen Ellyn, 111. O I ath'as 238/ 38 [73] Assignee: Portec, lnc., Oak Brook, 11!. Primary Examiner--M. Henson Wood, Jr. 1 l Assistant ExaminerRichard A Bertsch [22] Filed 1974 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Emory L. Groff, Jr. [21] App]. No.: 458,123

t [57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. Cl. 238/338; 238/287; 238/310; A rail fastener includes a spring anchor plate provided 238/349 with a longitudinal slot dividing the plate into a rail [51] Int. Cl. E01b 9/00 engaging section and a tie retainer member engaging [58] Field of Search 23 8/287, 297, 304, 306, section. A retainer member, fixably disposed relative a J 238/315, 349, 338, 310 crosstie, clampingly engages the tie retainer member engaging section to bias the undersurface of the rail [56] References Cited engaging section against the upper surface of the rail UNITED STATES PATENTS base flangel,798,357 3/1931 Ruping 238/349 10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures RAIL ANCHOR This invention relates generally to railway appliances, and more particularly, to an improved rail anchor for securing railway rails to crossties constructed either of concrete, plastic or wood.

Many rail anchors are known which serve primarily to reduce longitudinal creeping of the rail while others are intended to minimize vertical displacement of the rail in order to inhibit pumping of the crosstie into the ballast. By the present arrangement, an improved rail fastener assembly is provided whereby both vertical and longitudinal displacement of the rail is inhibited by means of a single planar spring anchor plate engaging each rail base flange above the area of the crosstie. Unique retainer means is provided to clampingly secure the anchor plate which means is fixedly mounted relative the crosstie. In one embodiment the retainer means comprises a specially constructed tie plate having a hook arm on each side of the rail while a modification includes a separate retainer member secured to the crosstie adjacent each rail base flange. In this manner a certain amount of vertical displacement of the rail is absorbed by the anchor plate in order to reduce the pumping action of the crosstie while at the same time a high degree of resistance is offered to the rail base in order to preclude creeping of the rail during travel thereover.

Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide an improved rail anchor assembly including a substantially planar spring anchor plate partially overlapping each rail base flange and having a portion rigidly retained in position by means of a fixed retainer member comprising a part of an underlying base plate.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved rail anchor including a substantially planar spring anchor plate provided with a medially disposed longitudinal slot permitting of limited vertical displacement of a portion of the anchor plate.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved rail anchor assembly including a base plate having an integral hook retainer arm beneath which is disposed a substantially planar spring anchor plate having portions thereof respectively overlying the base plate and rail base flange.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved rail anchor assembly including a substantially planar spring anchor plate having a rail engaging section overlying a rail base flange and an adjacent tie retainer member engaging section fixably secured to an immobile element secured to the crosstie.

With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

Preferred and practical embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the rail anchor of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the rail anchor assembly shown in FIG. 1 with the rail and crosstie removed for purposes of clarity. 7

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the spring anchor plate of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the spring anchor plate of the present invention as it appears when partially deflected.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end elevation, partly in section, of a modification of the present invention.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing, particularly FIG. 1, the present invention will be seen to include a rail fastener comprising a spring anchor plate, generally designated 1, and which is positioned to partially overlie the flange 2 of a rail base 3 in the area immediately overlying a crosstie T. Although the crosstie as shown is constructed of concrete, it will be appreciated that plastic or wood crossties are readily adaptable for use with the present invention without any modification of the rail fastener components themselves.

The construction of the spring anchor plate 1 is shown most clearly in FIG. 3 and comprises a normally planar element which is preferably stamped from sheet steel. The plate comprises a rectangular element of elongated configuration having an inside edge 4 adapted to be positioned juxtaposed the web 5 of a rail R, and an opposite outside edge 6 interrupted in its media] area by the notch 7, the purpose of which will be explained hereinafter. Extending along the greater por tion of the medial longitudinal axis of the elongated plate 1 is a slot S, the distal portions of which terminate short of the end edges 8 to provide a pair of outer flex portions 99 in the plate extending transversely of the plate from the inside edge 4 to the outside edge 6 thereof. The width of the slot is exaggerated in the drawing, and will be understood to be formed of minimum dimension. A suitable relief hole 10 may be provided at the distal portions of the slot S to relieve stresses in this area and preclude subsequent extension of the length of the slot S in the plate as is well known in the metal working art. The slot S in effect divides the spring anchor plate 1 into a rail engaging section 11 and an adjacent tie retainer member engaging section 12, the latter including the previously described medially disposed notch 7.

With the foregoing description of the spring anchor plate 1 in mind, it will be understood that the rail engaging section 11 is to be positioned as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 in a manner such that the undersurface thereof is tightly clamped into abutting relationship with the upper surface 13 of one rail base flange 2 while the tie retainer member engaging section 12 of the spring anchor plate is located outside the edge 14 of the rail base flange and cooperates with a suitable retainer member adapted to immobilize this portion of the spring anchor plate.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawing, the retainer means includes a hook retainer arm 15 forming an integral part of a tie plate, generally designated 16. It is provided with a base 17 positioned upon the upper surface 18 of the crosstie and suitably anchored with respect thereto by means of a plurality of tie plate fasteners 19 passing through each of the legs 20. By this arrangement, each pair of legs 20--20 extending beyond each rail base flange 2 will be seen to provide a passage 21 therebetween while projecting upwardly from between each such pair of tie plate legs is the hook retainer arm 15, which arm will be seen to include a U-curve 22 spaced laterally from the rail base flange edge 14 a significant distance, with the hook retainer arm extending inwardly toward the rail web 5 and terminating in a free edge 23 parallel to the rail axis and overlying the rail flange edge 14. The tie plate 16 includes a rail seat or channel 24 bounded along opposite sides by a pair of vertical shoulders 2525 and between which the rail base 3 is adapted to be disposed. When an insulated environment is required a suitable insulating pad 26 may be positioned intermediate the rail base and the tie plate channel and includes portions adjacent the shoulders 25 as shown most clearly in FIG. 1 of the drawing.

With a rail R positioned upon the rail seat 24 of the tie plate 16, the spring anchor plates ll are installed upon opposite sides of the rail by means of any suitable tool capable of urging each anchor plate under and toward the direction of the hook retainer arm such that the outside edge 6 will be moved toward the U- curve portion 22 of the arm until the notch 7 engages and surrounds this portion of the arm. It will be appreciated that the height of the slot as defined by the upper and lower portions of the hook retainer arm 15 is configured such that when the anchor plate is fully installed as shown in FIG. 1, the tie retainer member engaging section 12 thereof will be rigidly positioned so that a significant pressure is exerted by the undersurface of the rail engaging section 11 upon the upper flange surface 13 of the rail base. The provision of the longitudinal slot S in the anchor plate, which extends for the majority of the length of the plate, permits of a vertical deflection of the rail engaging section 11 independently of the medial portion of the tie retainer member engaging section 12 with flexure between the two anchor plate sections occurring in the area of the distal flex portions 99 of the anchor plate. The rigid placement of the section 12 of the anchor plate may be ensured by either placing the upper and lower portions of the hook retainer arm 15 in a manner to provide a close fit with the anchor plate or by positioning the elevation of the upper portion of the hook retainer arm 15 at an elevation calculated to cooperate with the inclined upper surface of the tie plate legs 20 to achieve this tight clamping of the retainer member engaging section 12. In either instance it will be understood that when the anchor plate is fully seated as shown in FIG. 1 the slot S will be disposed immediately above the edge 14 of the rail base flange so that any subsequent wave motion generated in the rail will not have any direct effect upon the tie retainer member engaging section 12 of the anchor plate, but rather will act directly upon the rail engaging section 11.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 of the drawing illustrates an arrangement for using the spring anchor plate 1 of the present invention in an installation without the use of a tie plate. In this modification the gauge of the rail as well as the retention of the anchor plate is provided by means of a pair of integral retainer members 30, each comprising a head 31 having an elongated inclined slot 32 therein facing the direction of the rail base and terminating in a downwardly extending shaft 33 adapted to besecured within the crosstie T. The specific construction of the shaft 33 quite obviously would vary according to the composition of the crosstie and in the case of the illustrated concrete crosstie, a suitable enlarged foot 34 may be provided so that the entire retainer member is anchored to the crosstie by casting the shaft and foot in situ. The installation of the spring anchor plate 1 in the modification of FIG. 5 is identical to that as described in connection with the previous embodiment. The spring anchor plate is urged toward the head 31 of the retainer member 30 with the head engaging the tie retainer member engaging section 12 and the notch 7 thereof straddling the head so that when fully installed any longitudinal displacement of the anchor plate will be precluded. As in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the undersurface of the rail engaging section 11 of the spring anchor plate may be initially provided with a layer of insulation 35 so that when an insulating pad 26 is positioned beneath the rail base flange and adjacent the outer edge 14 thereof it will be seen that a completely insulated rail fastening assembly is provided.

I claim:

1. An anchor for a rail having a web and base flanges provided with outer edges, said anchor adapted to secure at least one said rail base flange to a crosstie and including, a substantially planar spring anchor plate having a medial slot defining a rail engaging section and tie retainer member engaging section on opposite sides thereof, said rail engaging section overlying said rail base flange and having an. inside edge terminating short of said rail web, said tie member engaging section provided with an outside edge, retainer means fixedly attached to said crosstie and provided with a generally horizontal slot having its innermost edge terminating outside the vertical plane of said flange outer edge, and said spring anchor plate tie member engaging section engaged by said retainer means slot to bias the undersurface of said rail engaging section against the upper surface of said rail base flange to inhibit creeping of said rail over said crosstie.

' 2. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said anchor plate is a substantially rectangular element.

3. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said slot extends longitudinally for a majority of the length of said plate and is bounded at either end by a flex portion joining said rail engaging and tie retainer member engaging sections.

4. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said anchor plate tie retainer member engaging section outside edge includes a notch disposed within said retainer means slot.

5. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said retainer means includes a base plate secured to said crosstie and upon which said rail base flange is disposed, and said base plate is provided with an integral hook arm having said retainer means slot therein.

6. A rail anchor according to claim 5 wherein, said retainer means generally horizontal slot is inclined upwardly toward said rail base flange.

7. A rail anchor according to claim 5 wherein, said base plate includes a pair of spaced apart legs extending outwardly from said rail base flange on either side of said hook arm and portions of said anchor plate tie member engaging section bias upon the upper surface of said legs.

8. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said retainer means includes a retainer member secured to said crosstie and having a head provided with said retainer means slot therein.

9. A rail anchor according to claim 8, wherein said retainer means slot is inclined upwardly toward said rail base flange.

10. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, the undersurface of said anchor plate rail engaging section is provided with a layer of insulation. 

1. An anchor for a rail having a web and base flanges provided with outer edges, said anchor adapted to secure at least one said rail base flange to a crosstie and including, a substantially planar spring anchor plate having a medial slot defining a rail engaging section and tie retainer member engaging section on opposite sides thereof, said rail engaging section overlying said rail base flange and having an inside edge terminating short of said rail web, said tie member engaging section provided with an outside edge, retainer means fixedly attached to said crosstie and provided with a generally horizontal slot having its innermost edge terminating outside the vertical plane of said flange outer edge, and said spring anchor plate tie member engaging section engaged by said retainer means slot to bias the undersurface of said rail engaging section against the upper surface of said rail base flange to inhibit creeping of said rail over said crosstie.
 2. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said anchor plate is a substantially rectangular element.
 3. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said slot extends longitudinally for a majority of the length of said plate and is bounded at either end by a flex portion joining said rail engaging and tie retainer member engaging sections.
 4. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said anchor plate tie retainer member engaging section outside edge includes a notch disposed within said retainer means slot.
 5. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said retainer means includes a base plate secured to said crosstie and upon which said rail base flange is disposed, and said base plate is provided with an integral hook arm having said retainer means slot therein.
 6. A rail anchor according to claim 5 wherein, said retainer means generally horizontal slot is inclined upwardly toward said rail base flange.
 7. A rail anchor according to claim 5 wherein, said base plate includes a pair of spaced apart legs extending outwardly from said rail base flange on either side of said hook arm and portions of said anchor plate tie member engaging section bias upon the upper surface of said legs.
 8. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, said retainer means includes a retainer member secured to said crosstie and having a head provided with said retainer means slot therein.
 9. A rail anchor according to claim 8, wherein said retainer means slot is inclined upwardly toward said rail base flange.
 10. A rail anchor according to claim 1 wherein, the undersurface of said anchor plate rail engaging section is provided with a layer of insulation. 